| An eventful year is drawing to a close. In the last issue of this year’s ZEW Monthly, we look back at what shaped 2023. Among other things, we have included selected editorial highlights from research at ZEW Mannheim: In 2023, our researchers published insightful studies on innovation in Germany, the labour market potentials of immigrants, and Germany’s attractiveness for businesses in a cross-country comparison. We shed light on this and much more.
We would like to thank you for your interest in news from ZEW and wish you and your loved ones a relaxing holiday season and all the best for a successful and healthy 2024!
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| | | | THAT WAS THE YEAR 2023 – OUR RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS | |
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↗ RED TAPE AND DATA PROTECTION ARE STALLING INNOVATION IN GERMANY
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| The Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation (EFI) presented their annual report to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The presentation of the report is overshadowed by BioNTech’s earlier announcement of its decision to relocate its cancer research to the UK. ”We have been idle in Germany for far too long. Rather than advancing necessary reforms in the R&I system, we have allowed them to be delayed, and instead paid compensations and established expensive parallel structures. This needs to change to ensure Germany will continue to be an attractive research location in the future,” states Professor Irene Bertschek, head of the “Digital Economy” research unit at ZEW and vice chair of the Expert Commission.
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| More about the 2023 EFI Report
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↗ GERMANY AS A BUSINESS LOCATION LOSES OUT IN COUNTRY COMPARISON
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| Germany’s attractiveness as a location for family businesses cannot compete with the top locations in North America, Western Europe and Scandinavia. Germany is rated unfavourably, particularly in the areas of regulation, tax burden and energy. The gap to the top locations is also widening with regard to infrastructure. In contrast, the financial stability offered in Germany is rated comparatively positively. This is shown by the Country Index for Family Businesses, which ZEW has calculated for the ninth time on behalf of the Foundation of Family Businesses.
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| More about the Country Index for Family Businesses
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↗ LEVERAGING LABOUR MARKET POTENTIALS OF IMMIGRANTS IN GERMANY
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| Since the first recruitment of foreign workers almost 70 years ago, Germany has become the world’s second most important destination for international migrants, after the United States. Despite this fact, there has been a long-standing reluctance among policymakers and in public discourse to acknowledge Germany’s status as an immigration country. Yet, a proactive integration and immigration policy is more important than ever, given the stagnant employment opportunities for newly arrived migrant cohorts over the last two decades. Ukrainian refugees, in particular, possess considerable untapped potential in the job market, as a study conducted by ZEW reveals, based on microcensus data.
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| More about the study
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| | | | EDITORIAL PICKS | |
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↗ COMBATING FOOD WASTE WITH DIGITALISATION
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| In Germany, a staggering 710,000 tonnes of food are discarded each year. Approximately one-third of this is salvaged by the voluntary helpers at food banks and distributed to those in need. However, due to an inefficient food allocation system, the full potential for avoiding food waste is not yet being realised. In a project supported by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), researchers from ZEW, in collaboration with Tafel Deutschland e.V., show how the allocation of food can be made fairer and more efficient using an assignment algorithm so that more food is saved.
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| More about the ZEW project
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↗ BEST SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS AWARD GOES TO ZEW/MIFE TEAM
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| All that dedication paid off: one of the student teams mentored by ZEW, the University of Mannheim and MIFE (Mannheim Institute for Financial Education) achieved success at Germany’s biggest high school economics competition, YES! – Young Economic Solutions. The team from the Gymnasium St. Michael Schwäbisch Hall received the 2023 Best Scientific Analysis Award for their project titled “CashCoach – Unlock your financial potential”.
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| More information on the 2023 YES! – Young Economic Solutions
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↗ WHAT PREVENTS WOMEN FROM BUILDING WEALTH?
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| Women have fewer financial assets, save less for their retirement and are less likely to invest in the capital market than men. On the one hand, this is because women have less capital available for investment in the first place. On the other hand, a study co-authored by ZEW shows shortcomings in women’s financial literacy and a lack of self-confidence that leads women to frequently underestimate their own financial knowledge.
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| More information on the ZEW study
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Germany is characterised by innovative medium-sized companies that are often global market leaders. Are we well-equipped for the transformation? Taking stock.
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| Read the full opinion piece
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| | | GERMANY IS NOT THE SICK MAN BUT THE AGEING MAN OF EUROPE
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| The growth of the German economy faces hindrances, including demographic ageing, low productivity growth, outdated capital stock, and a scarcity of young and innovative companies. In its annual report, the German Council of Economic Experts identifies the most pressing economic policy challenges and proposes measures to address them. Professor Monika Schnitzer, the Council’s chair, provided a comprehensive overview of the recommendations in an exchange with ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach on 4 December 2023, as part of the ZEW event series “First-Hand Information on Economic Policy” in Mannheim.
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| Read the full event report
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| | | MANNHEIM TAXATION: TEN YEARS OF OUTSTANDING TAX RESEARCH
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| The Leibniz ScienceCampus MannheimTaxation, founded by ZEW and the University of Mannheim in 2013, is a success story: thanks to the initiative, academic tax research is finding its way into practice. To mark the occasion, the anniversary of MannheimTaxation was celebrated with a ceremony on 27 November 2023, with the Minister of Finance of Baden-Württemberg, Dr. Danyal Bayaz, among others.
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| Read the full event report
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| | | | UPCOMING | |
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| | | 2024 ZEW PUBLIC FINANCE CONFERENCE
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| ZEW is hosting the annual ZEW Public Finance Conference on 16 and 17 May 2024. The conference will take place as an in-person event in Mannheim. The focus is on contributions to public finance. This time, the keynote speeches and individual sessions will focus on the economic and political consequences of a government policy geared towards change.
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| More about the event
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| | | | → CONTACT FOR QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS ON THE CONTENT | |
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| | | | | ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research
L7, 1 · 68161 Mannheim
Phone: +49 (0)621/1235-01
E-mail: zewmonthly@zew.de
Website: www.zew.de
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| | | | | Executive Directors:
Professor Achim Wambach, PhD; Thomas Kohl
Chair of the ZEW Supervisory Board:
Ministerial Director Dr. Hans Reiter
Registered Office: Mannheim
Local Court Mannheim HRB 6554
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